A little while ago, the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its CRS-28 (Cargo Resupply Service 28) mission, also referred to as SPX-28. After almost exactly 12 minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 28th mission for the Dragon/Dragon 2 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes.
The Dragon 2 spacecraft’s cargo is more than 3,300 kg (almost 7,300 lbs) between the pressurized and the non-pressurized section. There are about 1,098 kg (about 2,420 lbs) of food and other supplies for the International Space Station crew but most of the cargo consists of instruments, hardware, and various other materials needed for science experiments and research conducted aboard the Station.
ESA’s Thor-Davis investigation aims to observe thunderstorms from orbit. This will help researchers see the electrical activity of lightning from above and provide more detail on these phenomena. The goal is to improve climate and weather models.
Plant Habitat-03 (PH-03) is part of the experiments that aim to grow plants adapted to microgravity conditions to allow crews of long-term space missions to obtain food autonomously. In this case, in particular, possible epigenetic adaptations will be studied to understand whether they can be transferred to the next generation grown on Earth from seeds brought back from the Station.
The Dragon cargo spacecraft also carries some nanosatellites including those part of the collaboration between NASA and Nanoracks such as Nanoracks ESSENCE to monitor ice melting and Nanoracks IRIS to observe the effects of direct sunlight and cosmic radiation on geological samples.
This Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft is on its fourth mission, as it’s the same one used in the CRS-21, CRS-23, and CRS-25 missions. Its arrival at the Station is scheduled for Tuesday: around 09.50 UTC, it’s scheduled to dock with the Station with an automated maneuver.
